Four years earlier in Beijing conditions had been ideal for the women's pole vault final. It had been warm with a slight tailwind -- perfect conditions for the most technically perfect vaulter in history. On that evening, Elena Isinbayeava had won her second Olympic gold medal, clearing 5.05 (16-6.75).
American Jenn Stuczynski couldn't match Isinbayeva's vault and settled for the silver medal. At that point, the American public probably expected a happy Stuczynski to smile and wave and enjoy finishing second to the world record holder. But instead of celebrating, Stuczynski and her coach Rick Suhr allowed the media and the American public to see their disappointment. The coach, in particular, looked less than thrilled. To viewers, it looked and sounded like Suhr was callously criticizing Stuczynski in a vulnerable moment.
Stuczynski grew up in Fedonia, NY, and excelled at multiple sports, including softball, basketball, soccer, and track and field. She attended Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY, and graduated in 2004 as the team's all-time leading scorer. It was also in 2004 -- the year in which Isinbayeva won her first gold medal at the Athens Olympics -- that Stuczynski was introduced to pole vaulting, under the guidance of coach Rick Suhr.
Ten months after taking up the event, Stuczynski won the U.S. Indoor champiponships, vaulting 4.35 (14-3). In the next eight years, she would win four more U.S. indoor championships and six U.S. outdoor championships. She dominated vaulting in the U.S., but always came up just short at the world level, with a world indoor championships silver to go along with that Olympic silver medal from Beijing.
In 2010, Stuczynski and Suhr were married. In spite of injuries and health setbacks, the two of them continued to prepare for another shot at the sport's greatest prize. Suhr trained in a rough facility at her home where, she says, it was drafty and cold most of the time and where the runway was uphill. Before leaving for the London Games she had some of the best training of her life, clearing 16-1, uphill runway and all. All that she needed was crappy weather in London.
On Monday night in London. it was cool and the wind was swirling. After the competition was over, Isinbayeva would say, "The conditions were terrible... As the competition went on, it became more of a mess, so difficult. I was sitting there thinking, 'I wanted this to be over with as soon as possible.'"
Of the twelve finalists, seven failed to clear 4.55 and were done. Suhr entered at that height and cleared it on her first attempt. The only others to clear 4.55 were Germany's Silke Spiegelburg and Martina Stritz, and Cuba's Yarisley Silva, although both Silva and Strutz had misses at a lower height, putting them behind. Isinbayeva missed her first attempt at 4.55 and passed to the next height..
At 4.65, Isinbaeva, Silva, and Spiegelburg cleared. Suhr decided to pass to 4.70, meaning that as the bar was raised, she was only in fourth, out of the medals with conditions deteriorating.
As a light rain began to fall and the winds continued to swirl, Suhr, Silva, and Isinbayeva all cleared 4.70 on their first attempts. Strutz went out, and Spiegelburg missed her first attempt and elected to pass to 4.75, the height that would decide the medals.With Isinbayeva trying to stay warm by hiding under a blanket, Suhr and Silva both cleared 4.75 on their second attempts. Spiegelburg and Isinbayeva would fail, with Isinbayeva getting the bronze.
It only remained to see whether Suhr or Silva could clear 4.80. None of the attempts from either vaulter were close.
After an eight year journey, the tough woman from Fredonia had won the gold medal. It seems that all those training sessions in a rude Quonset hut that Suhr calls "Rocky's Meat Locker" had prepared her for the hardships of London. Isinbayeva summed it up: "Psychologically, I was completely empty and didn’t want to jump anymore. Jenn wasn’t like that. She was like, 'Grrrrr!' She deserved to win."
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